Review of My Soul to Take (2010) by Jorge Eduardo S — 26 Jun 2013

"My Soul To Take" is a scare-free mess of a horror film that's so bad it becomes good again. There are some legitimately good parts in the movie, particularly when it comes to the costumes and the main character is interesting but the movie falls into nearly every typical horror cliché at the beginning of the film, makes little sense, has problems with continuity and the dialogue is atrocious. The premise is certainly unique: 16 years ago, in the town of "Riverton" a serial killer is on the loose. A killer who strikes without warning or discernable pattern save for the fact that he uses a knife to slash his victims. News footage reveals that the police have managed to capture the killer on camera. His face is hidden but they have managed to get a look at the killer's unique weapon. Through the magic of CSI zooming and enhancing, they show that the knife has the word "Vengeance" engraved on it and after a brief statement from a psychologist who claims that the killer could be anyone, maybe even someone with a multiple personality disorder that doesn't know he/she is responsible for the killings the character we've been following "Abel Plenkov" (who just happens to be listening to the news) happens to find the killer's knife in his house. Turns out he's suffering from multiple personality disorder, that the "Riverton Ripper" is one of his personalities and that if he tries to call the authorities on the "Ripper" the man's daughter, unborn child and pregnant wife are gonna get it. Stricken with guilt, Abel calls the authorities anyway and tries to control himself as he and the killer struggle for possession of his body. The wife is fatally stabbed before he is gunned down by the police... or is he?

Now, you might be screaming "SPOILER ALERT!!!" but here's the thing: this all happens within the first 15 minutes of the movie. This is just the setup for the "real" movie that begins immediately in present day, when the town now performs a yearly ritual in which one of the seven children that were born on the night the killer disappeared must battle a replica of the Riverton Ripper in order to ward off his vengeful soul for another year. This year "Adam 'Bug' Hellerman" freaks out and doesn't complete the ritual and unwillingly unleashes a new plague of death upon the town. Is it the killer returned? Is it the killer's daughter, back after 16 years? Is it one of the seven children born on the very night the killer disappeared? You'll only find out by watching the bodies pile up!

No one in the film feels, talks or acts like a real person save for our schizophrenic protagonist "Bug" who to the actor and the writer's credit does act and feel like a disturbed, constantly panicked teen. His older sister runs the school like a mob boss, sending out the generic high-school bully out to roughen up the people she doesn't like, collecting bicycle protection money and selling black market school answers. The characters go to a high school where the teachers are blissfully unaware about anything that is going on save for the subject matter they are teaching and are incapable of discerning even the most blatant misconduct. Other characters include the stereotypical Christian girl, the detective who has a score to settle and the abusive father. They're broadly written you can recognize them quickly before they're killed but they're given little personality so when they are in trouble, you don't care. The gore effects are scarce, there is some blood but most of the deaths are off-screen (which makes sense because of the mystery aspect of the film) but there aren't any moments that will make you cringe or any memorable deaths and there is no nudity whatsoever. That's right horror fans, it's an R-Rated film from the director/writer of "Scream" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" with no gore, no frights and no hanky-panky. Not that sex, gore and nudity are required to make a good horror film but if you're making a whodunit horror movie about a guy who goes around gutting people with a knife called "Vengeance" you have to cater to your audience. There are several plot points in the film that never pan out (birds seen watching over the children are shown and mentioned but never amount to anything), characters make the stupidest mistakes even in non-tense moments and people are introduced and then just disappear from the story entirely. The best example of this is a scene where "Penelope" is studying with a friend, unaware that the killer is watching them. She leaves to check something out, comes back to see that the friend is gone and then is attacked. We never find out where the friend went and when we see Penelope later you'll be scratching your head wondering what happened between the two scenes. The movie is never quite dull because the mystery is interesting to try and solve but when we get the final explanation as to what exactly has been going on it just leaves you kind of cold and there's a final confrontation that's just ridiculous.

While watching the movie, it was rife with potential for jokes and felt like a cheap knockoff of a much better horror movie. I had a terrific time watching it with some friends so everyone could just poke fun at the terrible dialogue and nonsensical moments There were numerous times where everyone took a turn guessing who the killer might be, only for nearly all of us to be proven wrong. If you're a Wes Craven fan, or even a fan of horror films "My Soul To Take" is a titanic disappointment, even if you will get wrapped up in the mystery that's at its center. As an obscure horror film with some decent star power that is easy to make fun of though, it's pretty awesome. (Dvd, June 14,2 013).